Your Secret Admirer
by MayzyGreen
Summary: Serena has a secret admirer and her friends think they know who it is, but can they get him to admit it? First Season Romance, Complete!
1. Discovery

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon but imitation, they say, is the highest form of flattery.

Your Secret Admirer

Part One - Discovery

By Danika Lareyna

He had waited until 8pm; he had to be certain that there were no students around to witness his act. Peeking around the corner, he spotted his target halfway down the abandoned hallway. The only light came from behind the closed door of a classroom near the end of the corridor. He waited but no sound or movement came from the room, convincing him that some careless teacher had simply forgotten to flip it off. Moving with as much stealth as he could muster he slipped down the hall and, finding the appropriate locker, delivered the package. Stepping back and wiping the sweat from his forehead, he congratulated himself on a job well done and hoped he would not have to do this again. He simply was not cut out for this sort of thing.

Suddenly the door to the 'abandoned' classroom banged open. Silhouetted against the light stood the small frame of a female middle-school student. His heart dropped when he saw her long hair pulled into a very distinctive hairstyle. Serena Tsukino, the very last person he wanted to catch him, yelled at the top of her lungs, "Miss Haruna, I have waited long enough! I'm going home now!" Turning into the hallway she muttered, "I cannot believe she put me in detention and then forgot about me _again_." A flurry of movement caught her attention and she looked up just in time to see a tall, dark figure back away from a row of lockers and bolt down the hallway in the opposite direction of her.

Serena's head tilted in curious confusion as she watched the figure try to throw on the brakes to turn down a connecting corridor but overshoot and run face first into a closet door. Sluggishly he picked himself up, shook his dazed head then froze. Slowly he raised his eyes and spotted the stationary blond girl, watching him with wide, bemused eyes. She could have sworn she heard him say, "Eep!" before he haphazardly scuttled down the connecting hallway. A brief moment later she heard the main entrance doors slam.

Giggling softly to herself Serena decided that whoever the figure groping about in the dark was, he must have been pulling a prank of some sort and had feared to be caught. Pity he had run off, she might have been able to convince him to do something nasty to Miss Haruna to pay her back for keeping a poor student so late. Serena's mother would kill her when she got home.

The momentary good humor drained away and she trudged down the hall to her locker to collect her things. Opening the metal door, she blindly reached in to grab the books she would need for the homework she would not do. Her groping hands fell on something unexpected though and, after a moment's panic, she realized that it was a flower of some sort. Pulling the curiosity out of her locker and moving back into the light emitting from her previous prison cell she found it to be a lovely pink rose with a note attached. Her heart thumping madly she turned the card up to read it.

"To Serena Tsukino, the most beautiful girl on Earth. From your Secret Admirer."

xXx

"So you think the guy you saw was your secret admirer?" Mina asked eagerly.

"Judging from his reaction to her obviously unexpected appearance it would seem to be a logical conclusion," Amy put in.

Serena nodded, "Yeah, what Amy said. What else would he have been doing? I didn't realize it when I first saw him but he was standing right in front of my locker." She was sitting at a booth in her favorite hang out, the Crown Game Center, sipping a root beer float and sharing her story with her four best friends; Amy, Raye, Mina and Lita. The rose in question lay on the table between them, almost sparkling with mystery.

Raye grabbed a french-fry from the plate they were sharing. Just before she brought it to her mouth she paused and asked, "Why didn't you take off after him? Run him down."

Serena laughed, "At the speed he was going, I could never have caught him."

Lita lowered her head and grinned conspiratorially, "You would have if you'd transformed."

"Lita!" Amy exclaimed, "That would be a serious misuse of our abilities. If Luna heard you say-"

Lita waved Amy down, "I was just kidding! Calm down, Amy. You know she wouldn't do that."

"Wouldn't think of it, more likely," Raye agreed, sticking her nose in the air.

Before another argument reared its ugly head Mina said, "But you couldn't see him at all? You couldn't make out any... uh... distinguishing features?" She leaned across the table, eyes bright, "You don't have _any_ idea who it was?"

Serena frowned and shook her head, "It was really dark... All I could see was that he was a guy, a tall guy."

The girls all sat back, puzzling over the gift and chomping on french-fries. As their plate of salty-goodness ran dangerously low Mina sat forward suddenly. She waved her hand frantically and, as the other girls leaned in to hear, she whispered, "Don't look now, Serena, but Darien's been staring at you and that rose for the last five minutes."

Serena, of course, looked. As she raised her head Darien Shields whipped back around to contemplate his cup of coffee. She could not make out his expression as he was sitting at the booth on the far side of the arcade but he had his shoulders hunched up as if hoping not to be noticed. She turned back to her friends with wide, incredulous eyes, "_Darien_? No way! He hates me!"

Raye arched a brow, "And you hate him, too, right?"

Serena flushed crimson, "Of course, he's a huge jerk!"

Mina smirked wickedly, "Then why does he keep staring at you, like that?" All four of her friends were grinning knowingly now. Serena gaped at them, they could not really believe that her arch-nemesis Darien had feelings for her, could they? Serena shot a glance at him and then back at the rose. He couldn't possibly, right?

Mina gasped and grabbed Serena's hand, "I've got it!"

xXx

Lita and Serena made their way through the arcade, dodging around the after-school crowd, to the counter. Lita stopped next do Darien and leaned against the counter taking full advantage of her low-cut top and bountiful assets to try to get Andrew's attention. Serena stood behind her a little ways, looking nervous.

Darien did not seem to notice them until Andrew wandered over to the girls and took Lita's order of another plate of french-fries. Downing the last of his coffee he stood to leave, without a word to Serena or her friend. Seeing her chance about to head out the door and Lita too busy flirting with Andrew to notice Serena quickly kicked her ankle. Spinning around with a yelp Lita looked as if she was about to murder whoever had the nerve to touch her. Wild-eyed, Serena nodded her head towards Darien's retreating back.

"Oh!" Lita exclaimed, making Serena want to kick her again. In a loud, carrying voice she proclaimed, "Serena, have you seen my new earrings?"

Wondering how on earth she had been talked into this but noting that Darien had paused, though not turned back, she replied in an equally amplified voice, "Wow! They're so pretty! I've always wanted some rose-shaped earrings, you know."

"Really?" Lita asked, her voice sounded mechanical and scripted to Serena's ears, "I did not know that, Serena! I got these at that shop a block from the school, you could go there."

"Oh, but I don't have enough money. Oh well, I guess I won't get any," Serena tried to put a tinge of regret in her voice. Casting a quick glance back at Darien she was disappointed to notice that he was no longer listening in on their conversation but making his way out the automatic doors. She met Lita's eyes and shrugged.

"Here are your fries, ladies," Andrew called cheerfully.

xXx

"Wow" Molly exclaimed in her incredibly annoying accent, "So you think if you get some rose earrings that'll be proof that Darien is your secret admirer?"

Serena stopped shoveling her lunch down her throat long enough to uneasily reply, "That what the girls think, but I think they're crazy. Darien hates me and that is that."

A slight rustling sound was all the warning they had before Melvin's head popped out of the bushes. Molly inhaled some rice and began choking while Serena stood and knocked the bespectacled nerd on the head, conveniently releasing him from the tangle of branches in which he had been caught. After standing and dusting himself off as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, which in Melvin's case was true, he turned to Serena. Poking his fingers together nervously he stammered, "I- uh- have something for you, S-S-Serena."

Running through a mental checklist of any possible gift Melvin might have for her and finding none of them desirable in the least Serena replied in a tired voice, "What is it, Melvin?"

With shaking hands, he reached into his pocket and extracted a small, dark blue box and held it out to her. Staring at it apprehensively but making no move to take it, Serena noticed the box was sitting atop a note. It was similar to the one from the day before yesterday and only a bit was visible under the hinged box but she could see enough to read 'Secret Admirer.' She felt her stomach sink down to her toes, "You are my secret admirer, Melvin?"

Melvin's face turned red. Had she not known better she would have sworn that he looked angry rather than embarrassed. Molly, having finally gotten her breath back, said, "Ya know, Melvin, secret admirers aren't supposed ta reveal themselves so quickly. Oh well, what'd he get you, Serena?"

Melvin seemed to have reached the boiling point and shouted, "It's not from me! I was forced to give it to you by someone else."

"Who?"

Melvin's eyes widened behind his thick frames and he glanced from side to side before whispering, "I can't tell you. The person said if I told..." His voice trailed off and the color drained from his face. Hastily he tossed the note and box into Serena's lap. "Ok, I did my job!"

As she watched Melvin dart towards the school building Serena concluded that his frame was far too small and wiry to be the figure of the night before last. With a relieved sigh, she read the note attached to the box. "A rose pales before your beauty, but your wish is my command. -Your Secret Admirer." With a trembling hand, she opened the box, already knowing what she would find within.

She was not wrong.

xXx

The delighted squeal of four teenaged girls could be heard for miles around the arcade when she revealed the pair of dainty pink earrings. Serena sat quietly, face aflame, as the girls congratulated themselves on their perfect plan. "It _has_ to be Darien," Lita crowed, "No one else was close enough to have heard!"

"I concur," said Amy, "It could not have been a coincidence considering the line about your wish being his command. I find it highly unlikely that this mysterious beau could be anyone but Darien."

Mina, looking highly proud of herself, turned to Serena and asked, "So, you lucky dog, what're you going to do now?"

Serena snapped out of her embarrassment and asked, "How am I lucky? The biggest jerk on the face of the planet is giving me gifts!"

"The biggest, _hottest_ jerk," Raye corrected.

Serena glared at her friend, "Darien Shields is _not_ hot."

"Oh yes he is!" chorused Mina and Lita.

"Indeed," Amy said whipping out her mini-computer, her fingers flying over the keys, "According to my calculations Darien has a hotness factor four times higher than the average male in Tokyo and unrivaled by every other male within a thirty-six mile radius."

It took the other girls a few moments to comprehend what their genius friend had just told them but when they did Mina exclaimed, "You've done calculations on how hot guys are!"

Amy blushed and looked like she wished she had never said anything causing the others to burst into giggles. "Seriously though," Lita said, "You couldn't do much better. I mean, even without his looks he's like super smart, he's supposed to be pretty well off financially _and_ he's a college guy. You can't beat that!"

Serena pushed the little box away from her, "Yeah sure, can't beat that except for the fact that he thinks I'm a completely klutzy ditz who's nothing more than a punching bag for him to jab insults at."

"Well it's not far from the truth, you know," Raye replied with a smirk.

Mina gently smacked Raye in the back of the head, once again trying to fend off another battle. "Well apparently he doesn't think of you like that, Serena," she said, "Or he wouldn't be giving you flowers and jewelry, would he?"

Serena's eyes widened in comprehension, "Unless he's doing this to play a trick on me. That's it! He's just trying to mess with my emotions, make me fall in love with some romantic secret admirer and then laugh at me when I find out it's him. That... that despicable chowder head!"

At that moment the bell in the entrance to the Crown Game Center tinkled and in walked said despicable chowder head. Caught up in her anger, Serena immediately snatched the box up from the table and stalked towards the unfortunate young man who, completely oblivious to her approach, was ordering his usual cup of coffee. Just as he took the first, soothing sip a loud voice screeched directly in his ear, "_Darien!_" causing him to spew it back out into his cup.

Slowly setting down the cup and massaging his ear he turned to her, "Yes, Meatball Head?"

A small box was thrust under his nose. "What is the meaning of this?" the irate blond shouted. Darien plucked the box from her grasp and looked inside before turning over the note and reading it. Analysis complete, he snapped the lid shut with a snort.

"You? Beautiful?" he said, "I pity the person delusional enough to have written that note."

She crossed her arms, not to be put off by his insults. "You pity yourself?" she asked, coldly.

Darien arched an elegant brow. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he informed her.

Serena's pigtails stood nearly straight out from her head as she exploded, "Don't play dumb with me! I know these are from you, and the rose too. I know you're just trying to mess with my heart and I think you're the most cold, heartless, despicable chowder head ever!"

The petite girl stood before him, breathing heavily after her outburst and glaring at him with furious blue eyes. Calmly he reached out and took one of her tiny hands into his own. Pressing the box into her suddenly slack grip and staring into her eyes he said solemnly, "I would never play with a girl's feelings like that, Serena." Releasing her he turned back to the counter, calling over his shoulder, "Even a meatball head like you."

xXx

Serena, back in her booth with her friends, stared numbly into space. "And you believe him," Lita asked, "You don't think he could have been lying to throw you off the trail?" Serena thought back to his grave, sincere blue eyes and shook her head. Her friends were silent, taking in this new piece of information.

"Well then," Amy said at last, "That leaves us with two possible conclusions. Either he was not the one who left you the gifts, which we have already ruled out, or he is sincere in his affection for you."

Serena was startled back to reality, "You mean you think he actually likes me?"

"Seems like it," Raye replied, glancing over at the object of their discussion. He had carefully avoided looking their way since turning his back on Serena.

"But then why didn't he admit it when I confronted him?"

Mina sighed, "Well you weren't very nice about it, were you? He probably thinks you hate him and regrets ever giving you anything in the first place. If he really likes you that much, you must have broken his heart."

Serena stared at her friends and then looked down at the box. The pink rose-shaped earrings sparkled accusingly at her, they really were very pretty. Guiltily Serena reached out and fingered one, "Oh..."

xXx

That night Serena sat at her vanity, her heart troubled. Luna was asleep, blissfully unaware of the events of the last few days. Serena envied her. She glanced down at the objects of her befuddlement. The rose and the box of earrings sat atop the vanity, their elegance looked out of place amongst the bunnies and other cute girlish items in the room. Could Darien actually like her? Could he really have sent her those in an attempt to win her heart?

Picking up the rose and twirling it lazily in her fingers she amused herself with the thought that he would have to do anything to win her. The truth was she had harbored a deep and shameful crush on him almost since they had met. The concept of him returning her feelings had been too overwhelming for her to handle and she had sought any alternate means of explanation. But the alternatives were exhausted, even Amy agreed and she knew everything.

Darien Shields liked her, and she had ruined it.

In the mirror Serena saw her eyes harden with resolve. Well if she had ruined it she would simply have to unruin it. If he thought she hated him then she would have to convince him otherwise. Smiling to herself, Serena clipped on the pink, rose-shaped earrings. Feeling giddy she decided that the first step was to get him to admit he'd been her secret admirer in the first place.

xXx

Elsewhere, Darien lay in bed wondering what fool had proclaimed himself the meatball head's secret admirer.


	2. Deceit

Your Secret Admirer

Part Two - Deceit

By Danika Lareyna

Mina charged through the mall, dragging Serena by the hand. As she looked over and rejected shop after shop she cheerfully spoke. "Well it's about time you admitted that you've got feelings for the guy, I mean _I've_ known for ages! Heck, I think we all get fuzzy tingles when he looks at us with those sexy, brooding, deep blue eyes..."

"Mina, if you could please wipe the drool from your mouth, we're talking about _my_ crush here," Serena put in, wistfully eyeing a pizza shop as Mina motored by.

"Oh! Right, sorry Serena. Where was I? Oh yeah- it's like the old saying goes, 'A strong offense is a good new dress.'"

"I believe the saying goes, 'A good defense is a strong offense,'" Serena murmured, noticing a new donut shop she would have to visit when time allowed.

Mina stopped short causing her pigtailed friend to run into her. Slowly she turned to face Serena, eyes wide, "What did you say, _Amy_?" she demanded.

"I said... uh... Yeah, pink!"

Mina sighed with relief, "Oh good! Well? Come on!" Snatching Serena's wrist back up she returned to hauling her through the shopping center.

Pensively Serena asked, "Do you think Darien likes pink?"

Mina smirked over her shoulder, "Every man likes a woman in pink." She stopped again, causing another collision, and pointed at the window display of one of the fashion shops, "But they _love_ a woman in red."

Serena eyed her friend's choice. It was extremely low cut on the top and high cut on the bottom, really hardly there at all. Serena blanched, "I can't wear that! A prostitute would hesitate to wear that!"

She tore her eyes away from the blood red monstrosity and turned towards her friend, fully expecting Mina to laugh and tell her she was joking. With a sinking sensation, she instead found her friend looking at the dress, if it could really be called that, with a feral look in her eyes and a wide grin.

xXx

"The secret," Lita confided, "Is knowing what a guy likes and then pretending that you like the same thing. For example," the tall girl began ticking off points on her fingers, "Andrew's favorite color is blue. His favorite food is hashed beef over rice. His favorite movie is The Little Mermaid. He tells everyone his favorite movie is The Rocky Horror Picture Show. When the arcade closes, he always puts on the Spice Girls to listen to while he cleans. He absolutely hates whipped cream. He-"

"No way, how can anyone hate whipped cream?" Serena interrupted.

Lita shrugged and continued, "Some sort of traumatic incident as a child I havne't weaseled out yet. Andrew's greatest achievements in life up to this point are getting into the college of his choice and winning a hot dog eating contest in the fifth grade. He is studying Biochemistry but secretly he wants write musicals. When he was a kid, he wanted to grow up to be a pirate. Oh and he likes to knit." Lita blinked, suddenly finding herself out of fingers. She was about to start over from the beginning but Serena cut her off.

"How do you _know_ all this stuff, anyway?" she asked.

Lita's head whipped around as she checked to make sure no one could overhear her. Leaning very close to her friend she whispered in low tones, "There are a couple ways; ask his friends, look him up on the internet, personal history check, steal his diary, general stalking..."

As Lita continued on and on Serena began to feel distinctly uncomfortable and wondered whether she should have asked.

xXx

"The most important thing is to be sexy and mysterious. Make sure he knows you got it but that you don't let just any old person see it. Play hard to get, you know?"

"No, I don't," Serena told Raye as they walked downtown. "I have no idea what you're talking about. What 'it' do I have that I don't let any old person see?"

Raye rolled her eyes, "Allure, charisma, primal attraction. You have to let him see that you're not as sweet and innocent as you appear, that deep down inside you're a tigress and you're stalking him for dinner."

Rather nervous at the fire that had ignited within her dark-haired friend's eyes, Serena protested, "But I _am_ as sweet and innocent as I appear!"

Raye nodded sympathetically, "I know, and that's what we have to change."

Serena had a feeling she was going to regret this.

"Perfect! An adult book store!" Serena was sure she was going to regret this.

xXx

"Darien is studying to be a doctor," Amy told her in hushed tones, suitable for the library in which they found themselves. "I theorize that if you wish to be able to communicate with him adequately you would do well to immerse yourself in the topics and vernacular of his chosen subject."

A moment later, when Serena had worked out what her blue-haired friend had just said, she replied, "Oh, that makes sense. Lita said something similar, get to know what he likes and pretend I like them too."

Amy nodded, "Precisely, that is the reason I asked you here today. I've taken the liberty of preparing a bit of light reading on the basics."

"Really?" Serena exclaimed, "Thank you Amy! I think you're the most helpful person I've asked about this."

Amy smiled shyly and stood up, "I'll just go fetch the dolly and we can check out your literature."

"Hang on, did you say 'dolly'?"

Amy nodded again, "Yes, in mechanical engineering a dolly is a platform on wheels for moving things."

"How many books are we talking here, Amy?"

Amy turned back to her, eyes wide, "Well I thought you would only want some light reading material but if you wish for a more in-depth look at the subject I can always fetch my usual fork lift!"

xXx

"He's in there," Amy confirmed, emerging from the Crown Game Center and entering the alley in which the five girls had hidden themselves for a final strategy meeting. Serena supposed she should be glad her friends were so supportive of her attempt to win Darien's heart, but at that moment she couldn't help but feel she might have been better off just picking up a couple of Cosmo magazines.

"Ok, you're totally ready," Lita informed her, giving her a thumbs up.

Mina nodded her agreement, "And you look _fabulous_. If his jaw doesn't drop he must be blind!"

Serena tried to stammer objections but found herself herded towards the door, encouragement spouted at her from all sides. Turning back for one final glance, she found her friends in various victory poses, Raye dabbing at her eyes and murmuring, "Our little meatball head is all grown up."

xXx

Darien groaned and slammed his Advanced Medical Anatomy text shut. He had had enough studying for one beautiful afternoon. He knew the subject forwards and backwards anyway; lately he had just been going through the motions for lack of anything better to do. Thoughts of going to the DreamLand amusement park for another ride on that neat panda train passed through his mind. Deciding that, wherever he went, he needed to get out of the arcade for a while, he turned to leave.

Walking through the door was a vision- the kind that might be brought on by too much Chinese takeout before bed. A young woman tottered on Mt. Everest high heels wearing... some sort of dishrag? No, it was not big enough for a dishrag. Her hair was a mountain of blond curls, which spilled down to the backs of her knees. It looked as if it weighed sixteen pounds in hair spray alone. Her makeup, liberally applied in all areas, made her look like one of those creepy dolls that came alive at night and killed people in horror movies. After finally catching her balance, she looked up and met his eyes. "Darien!" she cried gleefully.

Mina was right about one thing, his jaw dropped. "M-meatball Head?"

Mentally, Serena ran over her lessons. _Let's see... Sexy and seductive. _She batted her long, false lashes and walked over to him in the sultry, swaying way Raye had drilled into her. Unfortunately, during their practice sessions she had been wearing tennis shoes that were somewhat different from the killer high heels she now wore. After less than three steps, her feet failed her and she went tumbling- directly into Darien's arms.

_Ok, this could work_. Serena took a deep breath as she had often seen Lita do, taking full advantage of the push-up bra Mina had forced on her. "Oh, thank you Darien," she purred, making no move to stand on her own.

Darien forcefully resisted the urge to immediately drop the girl on her face and instead set her carefully on her feet. "What the hell are you doing, Serena?"

_Ooh, he said my name! That's a start._ As soon as Darien released her Serena lurched forward and grabbed his arm. She looked up at him from under her bangs and batted her eyelashes again. She pitched her voice low and soft, as Lita had instructed her, "Darien, do you have any plans today."

Darien tried to inch away from her snare but only succeeded in dragging her along with him. "Uh... No?" he replied, and immediately wished he had lied when her eyes lit up.

"Oooh good," she cooed, "In that case how about you join me for lunch? My treat."

_Say 'no', _Darien told himself, _Think of some polite way to decline... _"Uh, ok. Sounds good." _Damn!_

A dumbfounded looking Andrew watched his best friend leave with the new Serena.

xXx

Amy had advised Serena to take Darien somewhere classy but not too extravagant. That made sense to Serena so she bypassed her normal fast food shops and led Darien, well actually guided Darien while clinging to him for reasons of both seduction and balance, to the nearest Denny's. Warm tingles ran up her spine when he pulled a chair out for her, not realizing that he was mostly afraid she would break her leg if she tried to sit down by herself.

Soon the waitress came to take their orders, shooting Darien sympathetic glances. Scanning the menu quickly Darien ordered a basket of chicken strips. Serena had considerably more difficulty ordering. Raye had counseled her to order a small salad to appear delicate and feminine but this went against Serena's very nature. After much deliberation, she decided on a compromise. "I'll have a triple bacon cheeseburger, with _extra_ lettuce," she ordered proudly.

After the mystified waitress left the odd couple alone, a heavy silence fell over the table. Serena puzzled a bit, coughed politely into her napkin, adjusted the top of her dress (causing the eyes of Darien and half the males in the establishment to bug slightly), tugged coyly on a curled lock of hair, and finally gave up and decided she would have to make conversation. _Ok, Lita said to bring up his interests... _"So, Darien," she began, floundering for a subject, "A little bird told me that you were into Roller Derby. That sounds exciting."

Darien stared at her incredulously.

"Uh... you're not?"

"No."

Serena flushed and poked her manicured and polished fingers together nervously, "Oh..." _ Note to self: kill that red-haired kid I found outside of Darien's apartment who claimed to have been his best friend. Ok, Serena, you can do it. What about what Amy said?_ Taking a deep, soothing breath, Serena tried again. "Oh, guess what! The doctors found out my cousin had a... uh... cheirogaleidae on his spleen." She bit her lip, noting the look he was giving her. "Uh... they said it was inoperable."

Darien arched a brow, "Your cousin has a dwarf lemur on his spleen? That must be painful."

Serena opened her mouth to respond but, defeated, closed it again. Thankfully, at that moment the waitress brought their meals.

xXx

"And it just went downhill from there!" Serena wailed to her horror-struck friends. "He was too nice to say anything but now he thinks I not only hate him but that I'm a complete moron!" As she spoke, her voice rose in volume and pitch until her friends were forced to throw their hands over their ears in pain.

"It's not that bad, Serena," Raye said, sympathetically patting her friends shoulder, "He thought you were a moron anyway, right?" This, of course, only set off another round of water works and earned Raye a poke in the back of the head from Mina.

"What are you going to do now, Serena?" Lita asked.

Sniffling and hiccupping, Serena studied her toes. She was a mess. Her massive amounts of mascara had run with her rivers of tears, her hairspray had lost potency halfway through lunch and she now bore a striking resemblance to Cousin It from the Addams Family, her hose had run, her nose had run, and one of her high heels was no longer high after a nasty encounter with a sewer grate. Blowing her nose noisily into her last tissue she whimpered, "I give up. If he doesn't like me, even after I took all of your advice then I guess it's doomed. If he ever liked me to begin with then I've ruined it and can't ever fix it."

Without another word, the miserable teen limped out of Raye's temple and headed for home- earning numerous shocked stares the entire way.

xXx

Serena stood outside her house, puzzling over how she could get inside without her parents seeing her like this. She considered climbing the tree up to her bedroom window but, staring down at her outfit, which could only loosely be termed a dress, she decided against it. As a last, desperate option she pulled out her Luna Pen and whispered, "Luna Pen, turn me into uh... me in my school clothes."

Swirling lights and cheesy music later Serena, putting on a brave face, bounced into her house, chirped, "I'm home! I'm going to bed!" and beat a hasty retreat to her room.

She had barely thrown herself on her bed and prepared for a good sulk when a polite tap sounded on her door. "Dearest?" her mother, Eileen, called sweetly, sticking her head through the door, "Is everything ok?"

Serena bounced to her feet and smiled widely, "Yep, everything's fantastic! I'm just totally beat so I think I'm going to go to bed..." Serena trailed off hopefully but her mother did not seem to get the message and stayed where she was.

"Oh, well if you're going to bed I suppose I won't give this to you," Eileen said, pulling a brown-paper wrapped package from behind her back. She smiled slyly.

Serena's eyes widened, "When did that arrive?"

Eileen waggled the package enticingly in front of her daughter. "Just a few minutes before you did. It was delivered in person- by a boy!"

Serena gasped, "Who- wait- oh my gosh!" Suddenly she paled, "Daddy didn't...?"

Eileen chuckled, "Of course he saw it. I explained that it was the special new bras we ordered you for gym class and he didn't inquire further."

Serena could not help but laugh as she snatched the box from her mother's grip, "Thanks! You're a genius!" She hopped on the bed, hungrily staring at the package. She was about to tear into it when she noticed her mother was still watching her. After Serena tossed a pointed look at the door, her mother huffed and left.

"Fine, Dear, but you're going to tell me all about it later!" she called over her shoulder.

As the door clicked shut, Serena gave in to her impulses and attacked the paper wrapping. Within she found a clear glass rabbit figurine. It was so precious it took her breath away. The little bunny was balanced on its hind legs, one ear up and the other bent forward. In its paws, it cradled a tiny, intricately formed rose. Serena admired the little treasure for a long time before noticing that there was a note card tucked in the bottom of the box. Almost afraid to hope she read, "Serena, don't ever forget who it was I fell in love with. -Your Secret Admirer."

Serena puzzled over the card for a moment before something clicked into place in her brain. "Me," she whispered to herself and then raised her voice to a gleeful giggle; "He fell in love with _me_! It isn't hopeless!"

xXx

Elsewhere, Darien hid under his bed and hoped he never, ever encounter Serena's evil twin again.

xXx

AN-

I never thought they adequately explained _that_ one away in the anime. I mean, sure, he _might_ have been trolling for evil like the girls but Tuxedo Mask never actually showed up in that episode (except as an hallucination brought on by the weird clockwork princess thingy).

The rabbit thing works much better when her name is Usagi, doesn't it? Ah, well.

Final chapter by tomorrow (or possibly earlier if I seriously neglect my studies again).


	3. Devotion

Your Secret Admirer

Part Three - Devotion

By Danika Lareyna

Four teenage girls shared a booth in the Crown Game Center. The atmosphere in that booth did not suit the cheery sounds and bright lights of the arcade around them. The four seemed morose, speaking quietly and rarely. The somber mood they created ensured that most people gave them a wide berth.

"Do you think she will adequately recover from the traumatic shock?" Amy asked.

Raye snorted and said, somewhat unconvincingly, "Come on, it's Meatball Head. She's probably already forgotten about it all."

Lita shook her head, "No, she really had it bad for the guy. I can't believe he didn't immediately become putty in her hands!"

Mina looked especially pensive, "Maybe we could-"

The blond cut off as Andrew wandered over to their table, smiling broadly. With his usual cheery chatter, he handed them a round of drinks. As he turned to leave his normally jovial facade melted away and he shot Mina a pointed, nervous glance then immediately grinned and walked back over to the counter. Looking at her friends anxiously to see whether they had caught the exchange Mina said, "Oh! Silly Andrew gave me regular Coke instead of Diet." She gave a high-pitched laugh, causing the other girls to eye her curiously. "I'll just, uh, go change this then," she continued before slipping out of the bar and dashing over to the counter.

"What do you think _that_ was all about?" Raye demanded to which Lita and Amy could only shrug.

xXx

Serena peeked into the arcade but seeing that Darien was not there and her friends were she quickly backpedaled. She needed to speak to Darien before she got any more _helpful_ advice. Leaning against a streetlight, Serena considered her options. Idly she watched her friends through the window, hoping they did not notice her. She saw Mina get up and move towards the counter while the other girls sipped their drinks.

Standing upright resolutely, she turned and made her way down the sidewalk.

xXx

One of the few actually helpful bits of information Serena had gleaned during her attempt to learn what Darien liked was that he spent many Sunday afternoons in the rose garden at Juuban Park. Slipping amongst the flowers as quietly as she could, she searched for him.

She had returned to her usual spaghetti and meatball hairstyle and mode of dress. She wore a pink dress over a light, white blouse. The skirt of the dress fell just above her knees and little blue daisies were embroidered across the breast and around the hem. She had also tucked some cute fake blue daisies into her buns. Serena had, daringly, put on some pale, pink cotton candy flavored lip-gloss. A girl could hope, after all.

Finally, she spied him sitting on a park bench next to a particularly brilliant red rose bush. She paused for a moment to take him in. His green jacket had been shed and lay on the bench next to him leaving him in just his khaki pants and black turtleneck. She experienced a quick flashback to Amy's statistical analysis of Darien's hotness factor and, seeing him like this, could not help but agree. A bird in a tree near her caught his attention and he looked up. For a moment she froze, praying that he would not notice her, and when it was clear he did not she almost gasped with glee at the point she had missed before; he was wearing reading glasses. Incredibly nerdy, blocky reading glasses and damn, he made them look good.

She almost bolted but the memory of a fading rose, an empty box and a glass bunny, all of which were on the top of her dresser right now, changed her mind. She was wearing the earrings. She would have worn them yesterday but Mina had insisted they clashed with her outfit. She was glad, really, because she did not want the lovely earrings tainted with the memory of that embarrassing day.

Working up her nerve, she emerged from her hiding place and approached him. Hearing her approach Darien looked up. His eyes widened slightly in surprise causing her to freeze like a deer caught in headlights, a blush rising in her cheeks. Darien removed his glasses, tucked them in his jacket pocket, and moved said jacket to the opposite side of the bench, creating a space for her to sit down.

She did so mechanically, unable to meet his gaze. "Serena," he said by way of greeting. _Why, oh why, does he have to possess such a rich, spine-tinglingly sexy voice?_

"Hi," she managed to squeak at last.

The silence stretched between them. Darien seemed completely relaxed and comfortable with the situation. He leaned back on the bench, arms behind his head and staring up at the clear, blue sky. Serena twisted the hem of her dress in her nervous hands. _Say something_, she told herself, _Apologize, beg forgiveness, profess your undying love- anything!_

After an interminably long time Darien cleared his throat. Suddenly sparked into action Serena gasped, "I'msososorryaboutyesterdayIknowIwasreallyweirdanditwasn'treallymeandI'msorryIyelledatyoutheotherdayandyoudidn'tdeserveitandpleaseforgivemeandgivemeanotherchance!"

Darien turned towards her, "Excuse me?"

"Uh..." Serena took a deep breath, "I'm sorry... about yesterday."

He smirked, "What exactly was that all about?"

Serena's mind grappled for a suitable explanation for her actions. She was hypnotized? She was under the influence of some sort of magic potion? Maybe she had lost a bet? No, those were all way too far-fetched. He would never buy them. Finally she decided that honesty was the best policy and in a small voice answered, "I got some bad advice from my friends."

Darien chuckled, "Somehow I thought it was something like that." Serena tried to laugh but it came out as more of a pathetic whimper. He smiled at her, "Don't worry, it just makes me appreciate the real Meatball Head."

Serena ducked her head and whispered, "You appreciate me?"

Darien placed an affectionate hand on her head, between her buns, and said, "Sure, who else can I tease everyday like you?"

"Oh..."

"Why did you need advice?"

Serena's head snapped up, "What?"

"What were your friends giving you advice about? Why did you... change like that?"

Serena looked over at Darien. He was looking up at the sky again but his posture was no longer relaxed. He seemed tense and kept darting glances at her out of the corner of his eye. In fact he was... blushing? Serena gawked, cool and composed Darien was _blushing_?

Curiously encouraged by this sign of weakness on his part Serena started speaking, babbling even, "Well I felt really bad about the way I yelled at you the other day and accused you of trying to play with my heart. I thought... but that doesn't matter cause it wasn't true. And I thought you must have really disliked me after that and I wanted to make it up to you and..."

As she had spoken Darien turned to face her, those deep blue eyes bored into her now driving all logical thought from her mind. Her voice cut off with a squeak though her mouth kept moving, opening and closing a few times and making her look, she was sure, like a fish. Darien arched a brow, "And?"

"A-and... I wanted you to..."

_He's so close... What happened to the space between us on the bench? He's touching me, his leg is touching mine. Oh my gosh, I wonder if he can feel me shaking. I wonder if he can _see_ me shaking. _

"To?" Darien prompted.

"To... to... admit..."

_I can't think. I can't breath. Is that his smell? It's so nice... He smells like life, like fresh, growing life. Is that his breath on my cheek? How can he be that close to me? But... he is. _

"Admit?" Darien's voice was low, a whisper that carried easily across the small space between them.

"To admit..." Serena felt her eyes drifting closed. _He's going to kiss me. Oh my god, he's going to kiss me... Why isn't he kissing me? Oh, my answer... _Licking her lips and tasting cotton candy, her eyes barely open, Serena forced herself to continue, "To admit that you sent me those gifts. That you're my secret admirer."

Suddenly the delicious warmth of his presence was gone. Her eyes popped open and she found him standing over her. He always seemed to tower above her but the extra height he gained while she sat made him doubly imposing. His eyes were blazing. She found herself cowering back from him a bit, her previous trembling gone and frozen numbness left in her limbs.

"I told you," he said harshly, snatching up his jacket and books, "I did not send you anything. I'm not your _wonderful _secret admirer."

Serena tried to move, to say something, but failed and could only stare after him uncomprehendingly. He turned to go but shot a quick glance at her over his shoulder. His eyes held a plethora of emotion that she could not begin to understand and then he was gone.

As soon as he had rounded the bend and left her sight, Serena felt her body sag against the uncomfortable park bench. Her mind was a whirling mess. _He's not my secret admirer? But then why did he try to kiss me? But he had to be my secret admirer! Did he try to kiss me or was I imagining things? Who else could it have been? No one! No, there's no way I imagined how close we were together, that was definitely kissing distance. Maybe... Maybe it was... But it _had_ to be Darien! Oh my god- what if he didn't try to kiss me? What if _I_ tried to kiss _him

Serena immediately wished to dissolve straight through the park bench and into the ground at her feet.

xXx

Serena wasn't sure how long she sat there but when she got to her feet she was sure of three things she needed before she could face another thought about Darien Shields; her friends to talk to, an extra large box of tissues, and the biggest ice cream sundae Andrew could make her. Furiously she wiped cotton candy gloss from her lips. And he had better put extra fudge on that.

xXx

Serena had managed to put her emotions on hold, at least for the time it took her to get from Juuban Park to the Crown Game Center. She could feel them in a tight knot at the back of her head; hurt, confusion, embarrassment, and even a little anger. So compressed were her feelings that when she actually entered the arcade she was in a numb sort of limbo.

The bubbling sound of laughter told her that at least one of the items on her list was present. Her friends were still sitting in the same booth, though their mood seemed much lightened. They were laughing and teasing each other good naturedly. She took four wooden steps towards them before noticing it. On the table between them lay a brown-paper wrapped package with a note attached. She considered making a dash for it but at that moment Mina spotted her.

"Serena!" her exuberant friend squealed, waving her over.

Reminding herself that all of her feelings were safely tied away in the back of her head she made her way to their booth. After Mina had drawn attention, to her the rest of the girls turned to face her and they all grinned like cats with cream on their whiskers. The walk from the door to their booth had never taken so long. As she stood over them Mina gestured to the package, "_Someone_ left this for you."

Serena stared at it with dead eyes, "I don't want it."

Four sets of eyes blinked in identical confusion. Serena did not care, "You guys can have it, or throw it away, or whatever." She turned towards the counter, intent on obtaining the other two items on her wish list before spilling her guts to the girls.

The sharp voice of Raye stopped her in her tracks, "Serena you open that gift right this minute or so help me I'll shove a fireball right up your-"

"Raye!" Amy yelped.

Serena turned around and glared at the priestess, "You open it. I told you, I don't want it."

Lita crossed her arms, "What's the matter with you? Serena Tsukino does not turn down gifts from mysterious men."

"There are no mysterious men that Serena Tsukino is currently interested in receiving gifts from."

Mina opened her mouth to argue and Serena felt the knot come loose. All of her safely corked emotions welled to the surface, first and foremost being rage at the stupid secret admirer for getting her into this mess in the first place. Without even really thinking about what she was doing, Serena snatched up the package and made to fling it at the opposite wall.

She never completed the motion. Something about the package was wrong. She blinked up at it, still held high in her hand. It was a largish box, certainly the biggest she'd received yet, but it was incredibly light. Lowering it curiously she shook it. Nothing, there was no sound or feeling of movement from the box. Her inquisitiveness got the better of her and she pulled off the paper wrapping. It was a box. It was an empty box.

Completely nonplussed she raised her eyes to her friends. They were grinning again. Mina pointed at the card which still lay on the table. Feeling that she was definitely missing something, Serena took up the card. It read: "Nothing I could possibly give you would express my feelings for you adequately or be worthy of you. All I can offer is my love which you may have in endless supply. - Your Not-So-Secret Admirer."

Serena read the words and then reread them three more times. She felt certain she should understand what it meant but no solution came to her. Just before she turned to her friends for some hint she was seized by impulse and flipped the card over. "Turn around, Meatball Head" it said.

xXx

The card dropped from numb fingers. Slowly, careful not to meet any of her friends' eyes, Serena turned to face the man who had written the note. Darien Shields stood before her, looking incredibly nervous. Serena decided that the look did not suit him at all.

A thousand reactions bubbled through her brain. Her first thought was to leap at him and kiss him silly but, remembering their previous encounter in the park, she restrained herself. Her second reaction was to slap him for the emotional roller coaster he had put her on but she just could not bring herself to hit that pretty face. Her third thought was to run and lock herself in the bathroom until the whole thing swept away. That one was _really_ enticing. Instead, though, she acted on her fourth impulse and swung a finger at him accusingly, "You said you weren't my secret admirer!"

Darien blushed again, the back of Serena's mind noted that twice in one day must be a record for the infuriatingly in-control man. "I wasn't," he confessed, "In fact when you told me about him I wanted to go out and find the guy and beat him to a bloody pulp."

Serena's finger lowered uncertainly, "Oh..." She held the card up to her eyes and then looked back at him, "Then...?"

"Damn it, Meatball Head, do you have to be so dense?" Darien growled at her.

Serena furiously opened her mouth to respond but found herself unable to as two incredibly strong arms wrapped around her and she was thoroughly kissed. Serena had always pictured her first kiss as soft, hesitant, and achingly sweet. This kiss was none of those things. This kiss was way better.

He held her to him tightly, his lips hot and insistent as if afraid she would try to flee his embrace. Months of longing fueled the kiss, months of daydreams and fantasies squashed under cold logic. This kiss said, "This may be the one and only time I ever get to kiss you so, by god, I'm going to make it count." This kiss was definitely not sweet, it was passionate fire. Somewhere in the back of her mind Serena was aware of people staring and her friends hooting madly, but she had other things to worry about, like kissing Darien Shields back.

xXx

The arcade was closed and only two people remained. One was scouring sticky candies from the top of a table with muttered curses. The other was sitting primly at the counter watching the first and congratulating herself.

"My plan worked out perfectly, if I do say so myself," Mina said, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Andrew looked up from his cleaning and smirked, "_Your_ plan?"

The blond had the decency to blush, "Fine, _our_ plan."

Andrew nodded contentedly and went back to scrubbing but Mina could not help but add, "Not that you didn't almost _ruin_ our plan, getting caught like that on the _first day_."

Andrew snorted, "She didn't figure out who it was. And anyway at least _I_ didn't threaten that poor Melvin kid and scare him within an inch of his life."

Mina grinned wickedly, "He still runs whenever he sees me coming. Yesterday he hid behind an old woman." She chuckled, "Anyway, I suppose you redeemed yourself with that last note. An excellent bit of work, my good coconspirator."

Andrew shared a smile with the teenaged girl, "You think they'll ever figure out who her secret admirer really was?"

Mina's eyes widened, "I hope not! If they did I wouldn't know who I'd be more afraid of, Darien or Serena!" She met Andrew's gaze and they both shuddered, unpleasant visions of possible retributions dancing through their heads.

xXx

AN-

Smooches to Alicia Blade who I adore and admire

Also: Yay for getting rid of my asterisk which was supposed to connect the line about the DreamLand train to my Author's Note in Part 2. If you were totally lost, I apologize for not catching it previously.

Finally: Yes, updated a little before I'd planned. I'm pretty happy with this- I've never finished a story before so I planned this as a shorty. Anyway, I'm excited to see what ya'll think.

I'm really not good writing the mushy-smushy stuff (kissing and the like) so I hope ya'll find my attempt adequate.


	4. Update

Hello Readers,

Long-time, no post, I know. I wanted to let you know that this story has been moved to my DeviantArt account. The fanfiction . net version may be deleted at some time in the near future, so if you wish to save this story, I would recommend bookmarking the DeviantArt version. As a bonus,the DeviantArt version has illustrations by the author!

The story can be found at (please remove the spaces):

http:/ danikamorningstar . deviantart . com / art / SM – Your – Secret – Admirer – 01 - 258772360

(The illustration for part one sucks. I'm sorry. The rest are better.)

Note: I am currently moving all of my completed stories to DeviantArt, so you may receive similar notices in the future if you have watched me. I apologize for the inconvenience.


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